When Your Grandparent Dies: A Child's Guide to Good Grief (Elf-Help Books for Kids)

I have read 4 books about dying in hopes of finding the "perfect" book to help explain death to my 4 year old. I haven't found the "perfect" book, but this one came the closest and was the most helpful.This book is actually part of a series of "Elf-Help Books" that feature a little Elf. What I liked about this book is that I was able to get one specifically about a grandparent dying, so it best fit my situation. Also each page has a clear topic title, so we could skip pages that I felt were too much for a 4 year old to understand. There are references to God, Heaven, a funeral, and Cemetery. There are photos of the elf throughout the book helping to show these different things.If you go to Amazon and type in "Elf Help Books" you will see many titles dealing with death of other family members (death of a parent, a general death one), self esteem problems, moving, jealousy, fear, divorce, learning to be a friend, serious illnesses, being in the hospital, and others. I would recommend this series for a variety of situations that need to be explained to preschoolers.I also read Up in Heaven by Emma Chichester Clark (a good book, but only deals with the loss of a pet), What's Heaven? by Maria Shriver, and I Miss You: A first look at death by Pat Thomas. But I liked "When your Grandparent Dies" the most out of all of these.

Great book for children on when their grandparent passes away. The characters are a little odd, and trying to explain why one has a candle on its head is interesting, but the words are great and helpful.

I purchased this and Gentle Willow at the same time and used them both to help my 3 year old cope with understanding that his grandfather died. I think this was a little over his head, but it did the job and opened lines of communication. I skipped the pages that didn't fit our families traditions so he wouldn't be confused. I liked how it addressed the emotions of everyone in the family during the passing of a grandparent. I would recommend it to others.

Some things in life are very hard to digest when a parent or grandparent have demntia, or are very ill. The first shock is they are not able to do things they have always done, and the worst is when you realize they really don't know who you are! When someone you love enters a hospital or nursing home it is so hard to accept, and then you experience seeing that loved one going downhill in life so very fast. Each shock is worse than the last, and it doesn't matter whether you are an adult or child. Especially children, when they are facing harsh realities of life and worry that their parent is going to be next, etc. This book deals head-on of what the expectations are when a loved one enters this stage of life, how you should feel, and to not be afraid to talk to someone. Very realistic view of what really happens for a child of any age to give them a chance to discuss their fears as you are reading.

I got this book, one each, for my father's 15 great-grandchildren ages 1 to 8 when he died of cancer a month ago. The book helped them so much during a very confusing and sad time in our lives. I give credit to the way their parents presented the book to them, read it with them, and waited for the children to ask questions. The book gave them permission to ask questions that were weighing on their hearts, but weren't sure they should ask. Great-grandpa had gotten his last haircut the day before he died. For some reason, I saved his hair, and I taped a small piece of his hair inside each book. They have asked over and over if we could read their "Grandpa Book." A well written book, in a format easily understood by young children, especially when guided by a caring adult. The only thing I would change? We teach the children that they cannot play with fire and there is the little boy with a lit candle on top of his hat!

We bought this book right after our 2 3/4 year old daughter's grandpa died. He was only 54 and it was a sudden death. This book is more appropriate for a child older than our daughter with all of the words and topics that are included. Part of this book focuses on when a grandparent is old, sick, and dying. These pages we skipped because her grandpa was young, healthy, and full of life. We had to paraphrase a lot of the pages/topics to fit our situation. Each page is a different topic so you can pick and choose what things you want to read about and discuss - Everybody is Sad, Saying Good-bye, It's Okay to Cry, What Dying Means, Heaven, Crazy Feelings, It's Not Your Fault, The Scariest Feeling of All, Talking Helps, What is a Funeral, The Funeral Service, Listen and Learn, How Long Will You Be Sad, & What Your Grandparent Wants. I really enjoyed "What Dying Means" and "Heaven".

Especially when you are grieving the loss of your own parent, it is really helpful to have something like this to open conversation. This was a gentle and caring way to talk about feelings he may be having and a reminder to me to explain what is going to happen too (literally - like what the service was going to be like). My only comment is that it assumes you believe in heaven as a place where you can do things like eat cookies, unlike "The 10 good things about Andy" which allows for multiple ideas. But this was just one place and I did not find it offending, it simply made an invalid assumption and I just used it to talk about what might happen after we die.

My 9 yr old son was having a tough time with Grandma's sudden death. Truth be told, I was too. I wouldn't let a child read this book on their own. This is a book a parent needs to read to a child because all not all sections or language is appropriate for your situation. I liked that the book had sections so I could pick and choose the ones which applied. I am glad there was a section on funerals. Since my son was too upset to attend my mom's funeral, this book helped explain what happens at a funeral. If your child is having a tough time coming to terms with a grandparent's death, this book is most helpful. I am glad I bought it.

Touches on all the key traditions and emotions experienced in this difficult time. Helps parents work through the experience with their kids.

Perfect for my 7 year old daughter who lost her grandma, this book made her ask a lot of questions and is written in a lovely way explaining death.She kept wanting to re-read it with me.

Nice book for this type of issue

a wonderful little book, it has been a great help for my children, 8 an 10, in dealing with the lose of their grandfather. Highly recommended.

In my teaching career I looked for many ways to help my students with the grieving process. Picture books worked as well with the older kids than the younger. This book would be excellent, for kids whose parents believe in heaven. Not good for a family of any other group. It refers to it being OK to cry, mixed emotions, but what bothered me was the fact that they typecast grandma as baking cookies and grandpa going fishing in heaven. Truly, this works for rural, stereotypical families, but not ours. When Your Grandparent DiesWhen Your Grandparent Dies